THE DRIVE: Trump sticking to wiretapping claim

Friday

Mar 17, 2017 at 5:09 PMMar 17, 2017 at 5:09 PM

President says being wiretapped by Obama is his 'something in common, perhaps' with Germany's Merkel, not much madness happening in NCAA Tournament, a Secret Service laptop has gone missing, and more headlines to prepare you for your drive home for Friday, March 17, 2017.

staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday stood by his unproven claim that his predecessor wiretapped his phones, suggesting he was the victim of the same sort of surveillance the Obama administration was once alleged to have used to monitor German Chancellor Angela Merkel's calls.

"At least we have something in common, perhaps," Trump said during a joint news conference with Merkel.

Merkel, who was making her first visit to the White House since Trump took office, did not weigh in on the 2013 incident, which angered many in Germany.

MARCH NOT SO MAD

The favorites continue to roll at the NCAA Tournament.

The higher-seeded teams improved to 18-2 through the first 27 hours of the tournament after eighth-seeded Arkansas survived against ninth-seeded Seton Hall and third-seeded Oregon cruising past Iona.

Maybe the most intriguing late afternoon matchup is a meeting between sixth-seeded Creighton and 11th-seeded Rhode Island.

SECRET SERVICE LAPTOP STOLEN

NEW YORK — A U.S. Secret Service agent has had a laptop stolen from her car in New York City.

The Secret Service said Friday that the laptop contains "multiple layers of security," including disk encryption, and doesn't carry classified information. The agency wouldn't comment further.

TILLERSON WON'T RULE OUT USING PRE-EMPTIVE FORCE AGAINST NORTH KOREA

SEOUL, South Korea — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday it may be necessary to take pre-emptive military action against North Korea if the threat from their weapons program reaches a level "that we believe requires action."

Tillerson outlined a tougher strategy to confront North Korea's nuclear threat after visiting the world's most heavily armed border near the tense buffer zone between the rivals Koreas. He also closed the door on talks with Pyongyang unless it denuclearizes and gives up its weapons of mass destruction.

TEENAGER FINDS 7.44-CARAT DIAMOND IN ARKANSAS STATE PARK

MURFREESBORO, Ark. — A teenager has found a 7.44 carat diamond at a state park in southwestern Arkansas.

Officials at Crater of Diamonds State Park at Murfreesboro say the rock found Saturday by 14-year-old Kalel Langford is the seventh largest found since the park was established in 1972. The park hasn't provided an estimate of the diamond's value.